Suicide bomb outside Baghdad kills 23

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bomber struck during a party for a recently freed prisoner west of Baghdad on Sunday, killing 23 people and wounding 30 others, an Interior Ministry official said.

The bombing took place in Hawaz, about 18 miles west of Baghdad, with women and children among the dead and wounded, the official said.

The family of the prisoner -- just released from U.S. custody -- invited friends, relatives and security officials, including members of the local Awakening Council, over to celebrate, he said.

The U.S.-backed Awakening movement, made up largely of former Sunni Arab insurgents recruited to fight Islamic jihadists loyal to al Qaeda in Iraq and other militias, has been a frequent target of suicide attackers in recent months. U.S. commanders credit the movement for much of the sharp reduction in violence over the past year, though jihadists have denounced its leaders as traitors and vowed revenge.

Earlier, two roadside bombs exploded in a quick succession in central Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 14 others. One of the dead and two of the wounded were police officers, the Interior Ministry official said.

The attack happened in Baghdad's al-Nahdha commercial district. People helping those wounded by the first bomb, which exploded about 10:15 a.m. near the al-Thilal Transportation Company and a police patrol, became victims themselves when the second bomb detonated at the same location, the official said.

Most of the casualties were caused by the second blast, the official said.

And three police officers were killed when gunmen opened fire on an outdoor market in the city of Baquba on Sunday morning, a city official said. Six people, two of them police officers, also were wounded in the attack, the official said.

One of the three attackers was arrested, the official said.

Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, is located about 40 miles north of Baghdad. Last month, Iraqi security forces backed by U.S. troops launched a large-scale military operation in the province to clear it from al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents.

CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

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